Now is the perfect time to share the story of Xavier in China!
I have never met Xavier, but he has had a huge impact on our adoption story.
In the spring of last year (2011), when I was still pregnant with our baby that never joined us in life, one of my friends was advocating for Xavier on Facebook. Xavier was an almost one year old "special needs" orphan in China with two clubbed feet and he was BEAUTIFUL. I was captivated by his face and his story. I started researching clubbed feet because I didn't know much about that condition. I was amazed to discover how the feet can be completely corrected and the child would be able to walk and run normally. After our miscarriage, I continued to see postings of Xavier on Facebook and started to wonder if adoption could be in our future...Could I love a child who was not born to me? What were different special needs? Could I accept a child with special needs? What would my children think about adopting? Would they accept another child in our home? I bookmarked the different websites with postings of Xavier and followed his progress throughout the entire summer as he was admitted to the House of Love to get his little feet casted and corrected. I frequently shared his story and progress with my children to educate them about orphans in the world, to expose them to "special needs," and to see how they might respond to the idea of adoption.
Fast forward to the fall...We had moved from Cherokee County to Columbus, GA in August. I had been bombarded by adoption for months. It was everywhere I looked...tv, books, magazines, billboards, signs, sermons, FB...it was FREAKY at times! There can only be so many crazy coincidences before you start to realize God is trying to tell you something. At that point, we KNEW we were being called to adopt, but had no clue what adoption agency to use and were having trouble selecting a country. I was feeling a strong pull toward lnd!a, but lnd!a seemed to be a dead-end because it was a closed country--it was not accepting new applications for intercountry adoption. It was overwhelming.
One morning in October after weeks of research, I fell to my knees crying and prayed that God would give me some direction in which way to proceed with an adoption. That afternoon, I took my daughters to their first horse lesson at Mrs. Beth's barn. When their lesson was over, a lady came walking across the barnyard with two precious Chinese children trailing behind her. At that point in time, "adoption" would cross my path at least once a day, so I giggled knowingly and thought, "I wonder what God's up to now?" Beth introduced me to Tiffany and her children. I told Tiffany we were considering adoption. Somehow in the conversation, she mentioned that her son had been special needs with clubbed feet. I was excited to see how he was walking so well...no one would have ever guessed that he'd had clubbed feet! I told her that I had recently researched clubbed feet because there was a little boy named Xavier in China with clubbed feet and I had been following his progress. Tiffany said, "Well, I write a blog about a boy in China named Xavier with clubbed feet, but it can't be the same Xavier." I hurried home after the lessons, pulled up my bookmarked websites, found the blog entries that I had been following, and at the top they said "by Tiffany"!!! For months, up in Atlanta, I had been reading about a little boy in China assuming that the blog was being written in China...But no...It was being written by a lady in Columbus, GA who happened to live a few blocks from where I had just moved, and God had placed us at the same barn at the same time! The first thought in my head was that maybe we were supposed to adopt Xavier, but then I saw that he had been MATCHED to a family! I was so excited by that news!
The next morning, Tiffany called me. She said it was unusual for her to call people she doesn't really know, but she had woken up that morning feeling like God wanted her to talk to me about adoption! Within 30 minutes, we were meeting at the McDonald's down the street to talk. She told me about the adoption process, about her experiences, and about the adoption agencies in town. I told her I was interested in lnd!a, but it seemed like a dead-end. She told me about her friend in town who had just adopted two children from lnd!a and connected me to her. We are now using the same agency that she used for the lnd!a portion of our adoption!
I later asked Tiffany why she thought God had placed Xavier in my life the way he did...She said sometimes God will use a child (even if they are not meant to be yours) to tug on your heart to lead you where you need to be. She said these "coincidences" are called Red Threads in the adoption world and that I should write every one of them down. Each adoption is different with its own story...The Red Threads will weave together to tell our own unique story of how God led us to our children. I told Tiffany that I would love to let Xavier's mother know someday that I feel like he played a part in our decision to adopt...and opening our minds to consider "special needs." I don't know what it was about Xavier, but God definitely used him to get my attention, to tug at my heart, and to lead us to the ultimate decision to adopt! What a special boy!
In February, I located Xavier's adoptive mother and got to share with her how God was using Xavier even before his adoption! Reading about their adoption journey on Facebook and their blog throughout all of the challenges has been inspiring. Xavier's mother never lost faith that everything would work out in God's perfect timing. Even their last bit of funding came in just three days before travel...right on time. As I am writing this, Xavier's mother is on an airplane to China to get her SON!!! There will soon be ONE LESS ORPHAN! Please pray for safe travels and that Xavier will bond quickly with his new family! One day, I hope to meet this sweet family and the little boy who moved our hearts! They only live a couple of hours away! Amazing!
To follow this family's adoption journey, click here!
